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Protesters in support of the Windrush generation in London (Photo by Alex Cavendish/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Our democratic norms and institutions are under attack. More than at any point most of us can remember, our civil liberties are threatened and uncertainty over what we can believe has made space for a politics in which our fears and insecurities can be exploited.

We have seen increasing restrictions on the right to protest, and the introduction of new counter-terror legislation which proposes to widely undermine a range of our hard-won freedoms.

Add to that the spread of sophisticated and interconnected surveillance systems such as facial recognition and the scandalous Home Office policy of detaining often innocent immigrants and asylum seekers indefinitely, then it quickly becomes clear how vital it is that we have a legal system offering strong human rights protection.

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It can seem trite to refer back to the atrocities of the Second World War, but it was in the post-war period that people came together to safeguard what they had fought for. They built the NHS, expanded education, rebuilt homes and industries and sought to protect workers’ rights.

European allies came together and created the Convention on Human Rights to stop the horrors of that war happening again. British lawyers led its drafting and promoted it in Europe.

Twenty years ago today, the Human Rights Act passed with cross-party support, bringing the convention into British law and transforming how we as individuals defend our rights.

The Act is a tool to stand up to power – whether that power is a local council, a police officer, or a Prime Minister.

Without the Human Rights Act, the Hillsborough families would not have found the truth and justice for which they had fought for more than 15 years. The Act means authorities have to hold proper, thorough, independent investigations into deaths caused by the state.

This meant the families of the 96 secured their second inquest – which means the lies spread after 1989 have been formally wiped from the record and the police have finally been held to account.

In the same way, the Human Rights Act is the reason the Deepcut families have been able to expose the truth about the toxic culture and catalogue of failings at the Army barracks where their children died. They faced years of stonewalling, suspicion and silence – and the Human Rights Act brought that all down.

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Before the Act, we had no way of challenging police if they let down victims and their families. But that all changed in January this year, when two women who had been attacked by John Worboys achieved a landmark legal victory using the Human Rights Act.

The women had argued through the courts for more than four years that the Metropolitan Police had an obligation under the Human Rights Act to properly investigate serious crimes, like rape and sexual assault.

The Met fought them all the way, but the Supreme Court backed them and thanks to the Human Rights Act, common sense became law. Astonishingly, the Met continued to argue even after the judgment that it was too costly for them to be expected to investigate even very serious crimes to such a high standard.

The Human Rights Act has been used to defend the free press – from the Sun to the Guardian – and protect sources and investigative journalists over and over again.

It’s come to the rescue of protesters on countless occasions, most recently for the three fracking protesters handed grossly disproportionate sentences for exercising their fundamental right.

The Human Rights Act is a catalogue of the things terrorists hate, and want to see us lose – but yes, it has been used to prevent the deportation of terror suspects if there’s a risk they will be tortured or killed. Because the Act is a statement of the fact that, in the UK, we believe unswervingly that states must not torture or kill, and we are brave enough to stand by our principles.

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For two decades the Act has been a line of defence for individuals and our communities.

We have used it to press for greater liberty when times are good, and to protect us when that liberty is in danger.

Looking back at the victories won under the Human Rights Act should provide confidence in the face of uncertainty, and a reminder of why we need to celebrate and cherish it today.